Vegan Chickpea Eggplant Tagine (GF)

This Vegan Chickpea Eggplant Tagine is the perfect warming, filling and comforting yet healthy meal.

I absolutely love the combination of the intensely savoury, subtly-spiced sauce that envelops the meltingly soft aubergine and nutty chickpeas, which all pairs perfectly with the fluffy quinoa.

Pomegranate arils add sweet and juicy pops of colour, whilst the pistachio dukkah offers extra fragrance and a beautiful crunchy texture. This was actually my first time making dukkah, a Middle Eastern spice blend that I’ve been reading about a lot recently.

It certainly didn’t disappoint, and honestly made the tagine taste much, much better. It’s really easy to make, and if you have a spare couple of minutes on your hands, I’d really recommend making it.

Finally, I like to drizzle over a little lemon-tahini sauce, which works well to cut through the richness of the stew.

If you’re a little unsure of the quinoa, you can of course serve it with couscous (which is much more traditional), rice or maybe even buckwheat?

I love eating it with quinoa (and I prefer the white one here rather than tricolour quinoa), as it is fluffier and absorbs the flavours of the stew a little better.

These Chickpea Aubergine Tagine Quinoa Bowls are easy enough to make for a quick weeknight dinner, but also special enough to serve to guests. Leftovers are the dream, both freezing and reheating extremely well.

Former delicious stew-like recipes, check out my:

• Chickpea Sweet Potato Peanut Curry
• Tofu Satay Curry
• Japanese Curry
• Portuguese Tomato Rice

If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I’d really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.

Vegan Chickpea Eggplant Tagine (GF)

This Vegan Chickpea Eggplant Tagine Quinoa Bowl is the perfect warming, filling and comforting yet healthy meal.

5 from 3 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Moroccan

Keyword: chickpea tagine, eggplant tagine, vegan tagine

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Servings: 4

Calories: 520kcal

Author: Rhian Williams

Ingredients

For the tagine:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 red onion, diced1 red onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cm (1/2 inch) fresh ginger, peeled and minced1 cm (1/2 inch) fresh ginger, peeled and minced
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne chilli pepper, to taste1/4 teaspoon cayenne chilli pepper, to taste
• 2 red peppers, diced2 red peppers, diced
• 1 aubergine (eggplant), diced1 aubergine (eggplant), diced
• 4 pitted dates roughly chopped (or sub dried apricots or prunes)4 pitted dates roughly chopped (or sub dried apricots or prunes)
• 400 g (14oz) tin of chickpeas, drained and rinsed400 g (14oz) tin of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 vegetable stock cube (ensure gluten-free if necessary)1 vegetable stock cube (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 230 ml (1 cup) tinned tomatoes230 ml (1 cup) tinned tomatoes
• Bunch of fresh coriander (cilantro), roughly choppedBunch of fresh coriander (cilantro), roughly chopped

For the dukkah:

• Handful of pistachiosHandful of pistachios
• Pinch of ground cuminPinch of ground cumin
• Pinch of sweet paprikaPinch of sweet paprika
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano1 teaspoon dried oregano

For the tahini sauce:

• 1 tablespoon tahini1 tablespoon tahini
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice2 tablespoons lemon juice
• Salt, to taste Salt, to taste
• Few tablespoons of waterFew tablespoons of water

To serve:

• Cooked quinoa Cooked quinoa
• Pomegranate arils Pomegranate arils

Instructions

For the tagine:

• Heat up oil in a pot and once hot, add the onion, garlic and ginger
• Fry for 5 minutes until softened
• Add all the spices and fry until fragrant
• Add all the rest of the ingredients with enough water to cover, and bring to the boil
• Once boiling, turn down the heat and cover with a lid. Let simmer for around 20 minutes, until the aubergine is soft - stir occasionally, and add more water if necessary

For the dukkah:

• Add all ingredients to a dry frying pan and fry for 5-10 minutes, until the nuts and seeds are nicely toasted - be careful not to burn them
• Crush using a pestle and mortar or spice blender, until it forms a slightly chunky powder

For the tahini sauce:

• Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix well
• Add more water depending on how thin you'd like the sauce to be

To serve:

• Place quinoa in bowls, top with a few ladlefuls of the tagine, scatter over pomegranate arils, sprinkle over the dukkah and add a few dollops of the tahini sauce
• Leftovers freeze and reheat very well

Nutrition Facts

Vegan Chickpea Eggplant Tagine (GF)

Amount Per Serving

Calories 520

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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